What is it about?
Foreign-language subtitles on television are not random, but follow precisely defined norms and guidelines, both when it comes to appearance and content. This book explores what governs these norms, how they come about and what they look like, when it comes to technical norms, such as when subtitles should appear and disappear and for how long they stay on screen, but above all how the content is translated. The focus is on the rendering of cultural references, i.e. names of people, places, food and customs etc., which you may not know, even if you know the language of the source culture. They present a complicated translation problem, and the book explores how they are rendered and what influences the choices the subtitlers make.
Why is it important?
This is quite possibly the most extensive descriptive study of subtitles made to date, and it uncovers the norms that are used by actual subtitlers in their work.